Quoting Tony Smith : > The 30W laser would have been a YAG type, their wavelength is more suited= to > metals. Actually, YAG really only does metals. Can't remember the details, but they said it would do my acrylics (at =20 least 1/8" (~3mm) thick), and some thin metals. But I remember them =20 saying there was a red laser diode option (I believe in addition to =20 the cutting laser), for safety. Acrylic is about 90% of what I cut. =20 I out-source a lot of that, but also cnc-mill acrylic quite a bit, =20 which is a bit tedious because of the extensive time required to screw =20 the material down to the table. A laser would make this so much =20 nicer, and I can also then get inside square cuts. > Ebay is full of $1,000 40W CO2 machines, they will do 3mm or 6mm acrylic > with no problems. Thicker can be done with multiple passes, although edg= e > quality suffers. For acrylic you need to move at a certain speed to get = a > nice edge, a higher power laser means you can move faster, or cut thicker= .. > It's a fairly linear relationship. Saw those a while back, and figured a lot of that cost has to be for =20 the X-Y mechanism, so felt I could get a head (which is the term I'm =20 using for diode, circuitry, power) for much less. > Mild steel, say 1mm, can be done slowly & poorly with a 150W CO2. The sa= me > in stainless would need over 200W, aluminium about 10 times more. Again > more power mean thicker cuts or faster speeds. > > Guide here from someone selling lasers well out of the hobbyists reach: > http://www.laserresale.com/?fa=3Dapp.selecting#cutting Interesting list. Would be nice if it showed what power I need for =20 1/16" acrylic at 20ipm, or 1/8" at any (slower) speed. Choosing those =20 speeds as that's what I get with CNC milling now. Cheers, -Neil. > CO2 lasers output an IR beam, and metals like copper & aluminium are quit= e > good at reflecting that. In fact low powered lasers may have polished > copper mirrors. > > Most companies have CO2 lasers under 100W, hence 'no metals' is common. > > Tony > > -- > http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .